Bottle-washing machine.



c. A. ENsoR.

BOTTLE WASHING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED OCT. 29. ISIS.

1,1 91,776. A Patented July 18, 1916.

5 SHEETS-SHEET I.

c.A.ENs0n. BOTTLE WASHING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED OCT. 29. |915.

1.191,'7'7'6.l PatentedJuly, 1916.

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BOTTLE WASHING MACHINE.

APPLlcAYTloN FILED ocr. 29. 1915.

1,191,776.v PatentedJnly'ls; 1916.

WiTNEssEs AlNvENTo n /Zv may@ my Nomns Pern: ce.. mam-uma, wAsn/Nnrmv.nv c C. A. ENSOR. BOTTLE WASHING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED ocT. 29. 1915.

Patented July 18, 1916.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

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n C. A. ENS-0R.

BOTTLE WASHING MACHINE. APPLlc'ATIoN FILED ocT. 29, 1915.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 5.'

1,191,776. Y Patented Ju1y18,1916.

wn'NEssEs INVENTOR 62H76@ ,Efwof miran srA'rns PATENT formen.'-

CHARLES ALFRED ENSOR, OFWELLING'I'ON, ENGLAND.

BOTTLE-WASHING MACHINE.

To all whom t may concern v Be it known that I, CHARLES ALFRED EN-son,va subject of the King ofv Great Britain, residing at Vellington,county of Shropshire, England, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Bottle-l/Vas'h ing vMachines, of which the following isa specification.

This invention relates to bottle-washing machines of the kind comprisinga series of radially-arranged bottle-carrying arms, hinged to a centralcarrier or driving element to which an intermittent rotatory motion isimparted, and running upon a track or lrace of kcam formation, so thatas the arms revolve the bottles carried thereby are immersed within thewashing water contained within, a tank and are successively brought ltorest opposite one or more reciprocating fbrushes which are automaticallyoperated'so as to scour the interior, or interior and exterior, of thebottles; the said carrier arms, after passing the vbrush or brushes,being caused by the cam track to rise and lift the bottles clear of thewater.

In the previous arrangement the cam track was situated within the tank,carrier arms having rollers or bearers immersed within the water andvrunning upon the track; the pivots of the carrier arms being alsosituated within the water.

The principal object of the present invention is to vinsure that thebearers and, pivots or other working parts shall not be immersed in thewater, softhat no corrosion of the working faces can take place due toany acids thatl may be present in the water; this obj ect being attained'by kproviding the cam track above the surface of the water, the bearerspreferably being carried lby extensions of the arms beyond the pivots,so as to engage beneath the Xed cam.

YOther objects of the invention are to improve and simplify the meansfor imparting the intermittent motion to the carrier; 'to provide-improved means for operating the reciprocating brushes so as to preventdamage occurring should the `brush meet with an obstruction on enteringthe bottle; to improve the arrangement of the brushes for cleaning-theoutsides of the bottles; and Ato provide improvedmeans for rinsing-thebottles after `they have been removed from the washing water.

'Figure -1 of 'the accompanying drawv y' Specification of LettersPatent.

Patented July 18, l1916.

Application filed October 29,1915. Seria1'No.'58,66.

ings representsafvertical section through a bottle-washing machineconstructed in ac-vr cordance with this invention, showing thebottle-washing mechanism. Fig. '2 is another section showing theVmechanism for use 'in connection with the rinsing of the bottles. Fig. 8yis a plan of the machine. Fig. 4 illustrates a detail in connectionwith the valve used for controlling` the supply of water toltherinsing'nozzles. Fig. 'is alongitudinal section `through the brushcarriage, showing'how y"the brush spindles are driven. Fig. 6 representsa cross-section on line m, Fig. -5. Fig. 7 is another cross-sec* tionthrough -thebrushes for theoutside of the Ebottles and through the guiderods of thebrushcarriage, showing'the latter in end elevation. "Fig. 8shows a section taken on llne x1 Fig. 1, upon alarger scale,illustrating lthe Ipulley clutch andl worm driving mechanism. Fig. 9 Iisa -view of the intermittent driving gear 'for the rotation of the bottlecarrier.

The improved Abottle-washing machine (see fFig. 1) comprises a centralvertical standard 1fi-Xed within a hollow column or socket 2. A boss` 3,forming part of the rigid frame of the machine, has projecting therefroma horizontal shaft 4 Aupon which is rotatably mounted a sleeve 5 havingkeyed ."thereupon a wormewheelv 6 driven from a `worm shaft 7 which isrotated by apulley 8 Vfitted with the usual clutch 9 and disengaginggear l() (see Fig. 8). The sleeve 5 carries a bevel ypinion 11 havingonly a single tooth (see Fig. 9) adapted :to engage with yandcrotate aAhorizontal bevel wheel 12 having a series of gaps or spaces in itsperipheryV which are engaged in turn by the 'singletooth Thebevel wheel12 is keyedfto the boss '13 of the horizontal carrier disk f1.4 'free toturn about the shaft 1, and to which are hinged the rising and fallingbottle-carrying arms 15. During one complete revolu'tion'of 4the pinion11 the horizontal wheel 12 ismoved by the single tooth Athrough a spaceequal to the distance beinto which depend' the radially-arrangedbottle-.carrying arms 15, said arms being pivoted at 17 5 (above thewater level) to the edge of "the horizontal carrier disk 14; and

sition above the water (Fig. 1) or above the horizontal (Fig. 2),whereas when they cngage with the highest portion the bottles are whollyimmersed in the water, and lie more or less obliquely (rightshand sideof Figs. 1 and The weight of the bottles maintain the arms in engagementwith the cam.

As the carrier arms15 are brought to rest by the intermittent drive, apair of bottles come to rest opposite to a corresponding set of brushes(see Fig. 1). The brush gear comprises a reciprocating carriage orsaddle 23 sliding upon guide rods 24 and carrying two brushes 25 adaptedto be forced into the interior of the bottle. The carriage car* ries apulley 26 (see Figs. 5 and 6) which is feathered upon a square or otherdriving shaft 27 supported by a fixed bracket 28. This shaft 27 hasfixed to it a pulley 29 driven from a pulley 30 on the worm shaft 7 by abelt or band 31 passing around guide pulleys 32, 33, carried by suitablebrackets.

The main pulley 26 upon the saddle drives, by means of a belt 34, thespindles of the two brushes 25 for cleaning the inside of the bottles.For cleaning the outsides of the bot-tles three concave revolvingbrushes 36 are employed (see Fig. 7 same being oarried upon spindles 37arranged at right angels to the axes of the bottles and adapted toengage with opposite sides of the bottles, the middle one coming betweenthe two bottles. The spindles 37 of `these external brushes carry attheir upper ends pulleys 38 driven by a band 39 (see Figs. 3, 5 and 7from a pulley 40 driven by bevel gear 41 from the main pulley 26.

The brush carriage 23 is moved so as t0 force the brushes 25 into thebottles by means of a. weight 42 which, by means of a cable 43 rotates apulley 44 (see Fig. 1) mounted upon a spindle to which is fixed an arm45 connected to the carriage through the medium of a connecting rod orlink 46, so that as the weight descends the arm and connecting rod movethe carriage forward and downward, causing the inner brushes 25 t0 passinto the interior of the bottles, and the revolving concave brushes 36to pass over the outsides of the bottles. Should the4 brushes meet withan obstruction the descent of the weight 42 is arrested, no damageresulting as would be the case if the brushes were positively operatedby means of a cam. To withdraw the brushes a horizontal cam 49 is fixedupon a sleeve 47 surrounding the upper part of the standard 1 and drivenby a bevel wheel 48 on the sleeve 5. This cam 49 operates a sliding rod50 having a pin 51 engaging a slot 52 in an .arm 53 fixed to the shaftof the pulley 44. The travel of the carriage can be altered to suitdifferent sizes of bottles, by means of an adjustable screw stop 54. Theend of the rod 50 adjacent to the cam carries a cage or frame 72supported and guided in its reciprocating movement by the boss of thecam 49, as shown in Fig. 1. The said guide frame 72 carries a roller 73with which the cam engages. The said cam is of the shape shown in Fig.3, so that as the narrower part of the cam comes opposite the roller itallows the rod 50 to be moved inward by the weight until the stop 54comes against the fixed part 74. By lengthening the stop 54 the amountof travel of the brush carriage is reduced.

In order to accurately center the bttles while the brushes are beingpassed into the interior, two centralizing forks 55 are providedslightly in advance of the brushes, these forks being carried on slidingrods 56 forced by springs 57 but which are moved back by the carriage,when the latter is fully withdrawn, so that the forks 55 'are just clearof the bottles. When, however, the carriage moves forward the rods 56,due to the action of the springs 57, follow the earriage movement untilthe 'forks engage with the bottle necks, thus centralizing said bottles.The forks are kept pressed against the bottle necks until the carriageon the return movement overtakes the rods and releases the bottlesbefore the carrier arms 15 are moved away to bring a fresh set ofbottles into position.

In order to effectually clean the bottoms of the bottles either fixed orrotary brushes may be employed within the tank.

On the withdrawal of the brushes the bottles which have been cleaned aremoved forward into the position shown in Fig. 2, coming to rest oppositeto a pair of nozzles 58 from which a jet of fresh water is directed linto the bottles for rinsing. The nozzles slide in housings 59 carriedby brackets 60 on the fixed cam plate 21 and tend to be forced forwardinto the bottle necks by springs 61. They are adapted to be withdrawn bya lever 62 connected by rod 63 to bell-crank lever 64 actuated by a cam65 fixed on bevel wheel 48. The said cam comes into action while thecarrier arms and bottles are being moved through the interval necessaryfor the introduction of a fresh set of bottles before the respectivebrushes, when the cam allows the springs 61 to move the nozzles againstthe bottle mouths. A perforated pipe 66 sprays water upon the outL sidesand endsof the bottles. A controllingv turns off the water owing to thepin 69 engaging with al secondl arm 7 0 on the valvek spindle. A pipe 71leads from the valve to the nozzles.

Having fully described my invention, what I desire to claim and secureby Letters Patent is 1. A bottle-washing machine comprising a centraldriving element, means for imparting an intermittent rotatory motionthereto, a series of radial bottlecarrying arms pivoted to the drivingelement, a tank for containing the washing liquid, a sliding brushcarriage, brushes carried thereby, a stationary cam track engaged by thebottlecarrying arms and adapted to operate said arms to cause thebottles to be immersed into and brought out of the liquid, said armsbeing adapted Vto move past the brushes, af

weight for moving the brush carriage forward to cause the brushes toengage with the bottles when successively brought to rest opposite saidbrushes, and a cam for returning the brush carriage and withdrawing thebrushes. 1

2. A bottle-washing machine comprising a central driving element, meansfor imparting an intermittent rotatory motion thereto, a series ofradial bottle-carrying arms pivoted to the driving element, a tank forcontaining the washing water, a stationary cam track engaged by thebottle-carrying arms and adapted to operate said arms to raise and lowerthe bottles into andI out of the water, a sliding brush carriage,brushes carried thereby for cleaning the interior of the bottles, abrush driving shaft, a driving wheel mounted within the carriage andfeathered upon the driving shaft, means for rotating the brush spindlesfrom said driv ing wheel, revolving brushes for the outsides of thebottles, revolving spindles carrying said brushes and arranged'at rightangles to the axes of the bottles, means for rotating said spindles fromthe brush driving shaft, means for moving the brush carriage forward tocause the brushes to engage with the bottles, and a cam for returningthe brush carriage and withdrawing the brushes.

3. A bottle-washing machine comprising a central driving element, meansfor imparting an intermittent rotatory motion thereto, a series ofradial bottle-carrying arms pivoted to the driving element, a tank forcontaining the washing liquid, a stationary cam track engaged by thebottlecarrying arms and adapted to operate said arms to raise and lowerthe bottles into and out of the liquid, ai sliding brush carriage,

brushes carried thereby, a pulley, a weightv attached to the pulley-'bya cable, a pair of armsfixed to the pulley, a connecting rod between'oneof said armsand the carriage, a

slidingmember, a main driving shaft, aV

cam on said main driving shaft and engage ing withf the sliding member,anda connection betwen said sliding member and the other arm of thepulley.v

4. A bottle-washing machine comprising a central driving element, meansfor imparting an intermittent rotatory motion thereto, a'series ofradialbottle-carrying arms pivoted to the driving element, a tank forcontaining the washing liquid, a stationary camtrack engaged by thebottle-carrying arms andA adapted to operate said arms to raise andlowerthe bottles into and out of' the liquid, a sliding brush carriage,brushes carried thereby, a weight for moving the brush carriage forward`to cause the brushes to engage with the bottles, a cam for returningthe brush carriage and withdrawing the brushes, a conicalbottle-centering device, and means for moving said device intoengagement with the neck of a bottle tocenter the latter while thebrushl is passed/into same.

5; A bottle-washing machine comprising acentral driving element, meansfor imparting an intermittent rotatory motion thereto,- a series ofradial bottle-carrying' arms pivoted to the drivingelement, a tank forcontaining the washing liquid, a stationary cam track engaged bythebottle-carrying arms and adapted to operate said arms to raise and lowerthe bottles into andout of the liquid, sliding bottle-rinsing nozzles, a

springfor'moving said nozzles into the bottle necks when the bottles areraised out of the liquid and brought to rest, and a lever forwithdrawing said nozzles, and a cam for actuating the lever.

6. A bottle-washing machine comprising a central driving element, meansfor imparting an intermittent rotatory motion thereto, a series ofradial bottle-carrying arms pivoted to the driving element, a tank forcontaining the washing liquid, a stationary cam track engaged by thebottle-carrying arms and adapted to operate said arms to raise and lowerthe bottles into and out of the liquid, a sliding brush carriage,brushes carried thereby, a pulley, a weight attached to the pulley by acable, a pair of arms fixed to the pulley, a connecting rod between oneY of said arms and the carriage, a sliding member, a main driving shaft,a cam on said.

ing member employed for withdrawing the brush carriage so asautomatically to turn the vwater on and oil'7 as required.

7. A bottle washing machine comprising, a central driving element.adapted to rotate in a horizontal plane, means for imparting anintermittent motion to said element, a series of radially arrangedbottle supporting arms pivoted to said element at a point above thesurface oi? the washing fluid, said arms having extensions extendinginwardly from their pivots, a reciprocating brush geared for scouringthe bottles, a stationary track having a cam surface situated above thesurface oli' said fluid and constantly engaged by said inward extensionsto said bottle supporting arms so as tocause the bottles to be immersedand successively brought out of said iuid to rest opposite said brush,and means for automatically reciprocating said brush when the bottlesare at rest.

8. A bottle washing machine comprising, a central driving element, aseries of radially arranged bottle carrying arms pivoted toV saidelement,4 a tank for containing washing fluid, a sliding brush carriage,brushes carried by said carriage, a cam track arranged to be engaged bysaid brush carrying arms and to operate the latter to cause vsaidbottles to loc-raised and lowered into and out of the said fluid, saidbottles being adapted to pass said brushes, means for moving saidcarriage forward to cause the brushes to engage with the bottles whensuccessively brought out of the fluid and at rest opposite said brushes,and means for returning said brush carriage and withdrawing .aid brusheswhen said element is again actuated.

9. A bottle washing machine comprising, a central driving element, meansfor rotating said element, a series ol radially arranged bottlecarrying` arms pivoted to said element, a tank for containing washingHuid, a cam surface engaged bysaid arm and adapted to operate the latterto raise and lower the bottles into and out of the fluid, a slidingbrush carriage, brushes carried by said carriage, means forautomatically moving said vbrush carriage forward to cause said brushesto engage with said bottles at a predetermined point in the rotation ofsaid element, and means for automatically returiiin said brush carriageand withdrawing said brushes.

10. A bottle washing machine comprising, a central driving element,means for rotating said element, a series of radially arrangedbottlecarrying arms pivoted to said clement, a tank for containingwashing fluid, a cam surface engaged by said arm and adapted to operatethe latter to raise and lower the bottles into and out oi the fluid, asliding brush carriage, brushes carried by said carriage, means forautomatically moving said brush carriage forward to cause said brushesto engage with said bottles at a predetermined point in the rotation ofsaid element, a bottle centering device, means for moving said deviceinto engagement with the bottle when the latter is to be operated uponby said brushes, and means for automatically returning said brushcarriage and f withdrawing said brushes. f

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my' hand in presence of twosubscribing witnesses.

CHARLES ALFRED ENSOR. Witnesses:

HENRY NORTON SKERRETT, WILLIAM STAiTEs SKERRETT.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for ve cents eaclh, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents, Washington, I). C.

